Insanity Breeches
by Jay-with-Splice
Summary: A collection of side quests in which Jason Brody has to work for some Pirates to keep his secret safe from Hoyt. Contains gore, mentions of death, animal attacks, ocs and drug abuse.
1. Dog Hunt

Bridge Control was extremely loud for once as Jason neared the camp. Music was blasting out over the speakers and all around him, the pirates that had been accepted into the Privateer ranks, laughed and chatted and drank themselves stupid. Being so close to them these past weeks made Jason almost regret wanting to kill them earlier. Almost. Brown eyes caught sight of a few familiar-faced pirates. Lewis, the crazed Molotov Man, was standing beside Hopper. Both were completely wrecked; their faces were a bright flushed red and Hopper looked just about ready to pass out. Over near the speakers stood Angus, a very strange, very giggly man whom was in desperate need to see a therapist.

Over by the firepits were Clause and Rock. Both were cleaning their weapons diligently and chatting about something that Jason couldn't hear from where he stood. Then he saw Langley, the man that had called him on his phone in the first place. It was him that had asked him to come to Bridge Control this day. The thin, mowhawked man was seated on a fold-up chair near the main building, his feet were propped comfortably on a table and the chair he was in looked dangerously close to tipping over. Dark brown eyes glanced upwards to meet his own and the Warrior forced a grin.

"Eeeeyy..." the pirate started and Jason already figured the man was high. "I was wondering when you were going to show up, Foster." That last name Jason was going by was really starting to stick to him.

"I need your help...m'dog Lassie, my pride and joy, hasn't come back since I sent her off to Hoyt's compound." His arm raised so his eyes could look at his wristwatch's time. "I was wondering if you could head there and bring her back..." Jason wrinkled his nose at Langley's words. Why would he risk his life for a dog who didn't even like him? Apparently, Langley appeared to know what was going through his head for he continued, "If you do this for me, I'll pay you five-hundred dollars and give ya some new upgrades for the MS16..."

That caught Jason's attention. The idea of money and new upgrades made the brunette's frown lessen. Still, he kept his face blank and held his head up stiffly. "New upgrades and even some money, eh?" Hands crossing over his chest, Jason finally sighed, as if acting like he finally made up his mind. "Fine. Alright. I'll go get your dumb dog..." Jason glanced off to the side when a big, wide grin was offered to him from Langley. The pirate straightened up in his seat to hand the Warrior a sheet of paper.

"Just say that I sent ya to talk ta Hoyt...They'll let you in. And give this to the Business man when ya get there." Jason leaned forward to take the sheet from the pirate and with a scowl, said "I'll bring her back quick...I got to go meet up with someone afterwards though..." Jason thought it was smart to leave out Sam's name, in case the other was still working for Hoyt. He didn't want the Privateer helping him take down the Business Man to be killed. Langley said nothing more, so Jason took that as a chance to leave. He turned his back on the pirate and moved pass the dancing, drunken men towards the jeep he had pulled up in.

Sitting beside the jeep was Clank, a Pitbull that belonged to Rock. The Pitbull's eyes remained focused on the warrior standing before him. Moving around the hound, he climbed into the front seat and moved to turn on the engine with a spare key. A loud bark spouted from Clank, and Jason yelled out and cursed when the Pitbull leapt into the front seat, paws digging into his stomach and groin and clambering into the passenger's seat beside him. Glaring at the dog until it growled right back at him, he gave a roll of his eyes and his foot pressed into the gas pedal and off they drove down the dirt road. He ignored the way the ugly, scarred creature panted, the way his long tongue rolled out of his mouth with drool dribbling down from his wet appendage. Eyes turning away from the dog, he glanced towards the road and the inhabitants. Leopards chased down pigs, yowling and hissing angrily. Herds of Buffalo ran across the rolling hills while packs of wild dogs stalked through the grass. In other vehicles, Rakyat men patrolled diligently, keeping an eye out for any signs of unwanted Privateers.

He grumbled quietly to himself. Jason couldn't believe what he just got himself into! He had better things to do than go after some drugged up Pirate's dog! Especially since the pirate and dog duo had tried to kill him on multiple occasions. Sure, Jason did try to return the favor, but the fucker survived a gunshot to the head. Thoughts of the knife-fight against the man in question flashed through his mind. Just before the Warrior had went to meet up with Vaas in his building, Langley had intercepted him with a knife to his throat. Luckily, Jason had managed to rip Langley's pistol out of its holster at the last second and he shot him point-blank between the eyes.

Apparently even that wasn't enough to kill the pirate.

A bark from Clank and Jason noticed the compound was now in sight. Jason parked the jeep right outside the slightly open gate that led inside the compound. A soft grumble beneath his breath, and Jason climbed out of the vehicle, watching Clank leap out of the seat and dash through the open gate, his tail going at least a mile an hour. Jason followed after the creature and immediately located the large mansion-like building in the center of the compound. This place was much stranger than Bridge Control. He had already grown used to all the Pirates whom had fun while they worked. Here, all Jason could see and hear were captives getting tortured, and he could feel eyes boring into him. Up the steps, the Privateer guarding the entrance gave him a glare and stood in front of him, blocking his way.

"Langley sent me here with something important to give to Hoyt..." He watched the man raise up a walkie talkie and he stepped away to speak with Hoyt.

Jason heard him say a few things like, "It's Foster..." and "Langley sent him..." The man went silent for a bit and he huffed, attaching the radio back to his waist. "Head in..." He pulled the door open and yelled angrily when Clank took the chance, rushing in and dashing upstairs. Jason watched as a few Privateers inside jumped out of the way before the ugly dog could knock them over with his size. When Jason moved inside, he heard the doorman curse, "Fucking pirates need to train their dogs better..." The door was closed and Jason snorted in its direction. That man was a drama queen.

Moving upstairs after the Pitbull, he moved in the direction towards Hoyt's office. His eyes caught a suited woman crouched beside a familiar German Shepard. It was Lassie, and she appeared to have been shot in the leg. The female was working on removing the bullet from her hind leg and Clank had taken a seat beside the Shepard. He'd get them after giving this sheet of paper to Hoyt. Knocking on the door, he heard that god forsaken accent.

"Come in Foster!" He did as he was told, merely raising his hand and setting the sheet on his desk. "Ah! So he finally turned it in!" Hoyt took the sheet and sat down in his seat, eyes glancing over the paper's contents. "Oh...Langley's dog got shot by a rebel on her way here. Meet Nadia and bring her back to him. She's done nothing but try to bite my men." A wave of his hand in dismissal and Jason wanted to do nothing more than to shoot him in the face.

A nod and out of the office Jason went, moving around the staircase and to the woman now wrapping up the dog's leg. Clank was now sitting beside the wounded dog; both Shepard and Pitbull seemed oddly content beside each other. "Uh...you're Nadia, yeah?" Jason caught the woman's attention and bright eyes met his. She stood and ran a hand through her hair.

"Yes...you are Foster, correct?" He opened his mouth to respond, but she cut him off, "You can take her back to her owner now. I have finished taking care of her wound...poor thing..." Her hand went to Lassie's head and she scratched her lovingly. How she could actually touch the thing without being bit shocked Jason.

"Yeah...I'll take her back...came here to do that in the first place." Jason glanced to Lassie and the German Shepard looked to him and gave a growl of warning. The fur on her spine fluffed up.

"Lassie dear...he is going to take you back to your owner, Langley..." At the name, the dog's ears perked and both Pitbull and Shepard took off down the stairs, both going slow so that Lassie wouldn't struggle too much. Watching them go, Jason began to move after them but Nadia's voice echoed after him, "Make sure you keep an eye out for Snow White..." The way she said those last two words made him freeze up a bit, but continued walking.

Stepping outside, he took a deep breath; the female's words had gave him a sense of anxiety. What if she knew? A swallow and off to the Jeep he went, giving a glare to the two animals that had both stuffed themselves into the passenger's seat. Clank was more than in the driver's seat and Jason had to push the dog more to the side to be able to sit down. Clank was easily moved and Jason, with a frown, started up the jeep and set it in drive. All he had to look forward too was more money and newer upgrades for a gun. Was it really worth it?

It was.


	2. Click, Clack, Boom!

Jason regretted the fact that he always found himself coming back to Bridge Control. Coming to this place felt like sniffing a whole bag of coke and drinking five bottles of vodka. Thankfully, the pirates were far more calm than the last time he'd been here, when Langley wanted him to retrieve his demon of a dog. Memories of the phone call he got from Lewis earlier flashed through his head, how drunk the Molotov Man sounded with a hint of excitement ringing in his tone. When Jason got to Bridge Control, Rock, the large, fire-loving Heavy, told him that Lewis was out on a mission that had been issued by Hoyt. A scowl from Jason, and the Warrior sat in the grass and glared at the ground. Lewis wasn't even here!

Then he heard the ever so annoying ringtone of his phone and the brunette reached for it, tugging it out of his pocket. He did think about taking a break for once. He did deserve it after having to mess with all of Hoyt's 'nice things'. Raising the phone up to his ear, he heard the familiar tone of Lewis on the other end. "Where'th'ell are'ye?" Lewis asked with a hint of annoyance in his tone. "Oi'taugh'ah told'ye'ta come ta'th' bridge tha'ov'a looks'th ravine!" Jason felt his brow twitch and his lips pulled into a snarl.

"No...you didn't. You told me to meet you at Bridge Control." There was silence that overtook the other end of the line and Jason thought of slugging Lewis the next time he saw him. His jaw clenched in annoyance when Lewis suddenly burst out into a loud fit of laughter.

"Oh'shi'! Pfffffft ahahahaha! Moi'bad!" He continued on with his loud hyena laughter and Jason already began to feel a headache start to form in his annoyance. "Yeeeaa'...so'th' ravine. Where'ya bust'ose traitor priv'teers! 'urry up, 'urry up!" Jason's brow wrinkled as he thought back to the incident. The run to the bridge, the zip-lining, men shooting at him from every direction. That was possibly the worst run of his life and it would have been literally impossible if he didn't have those Untouchable shots.

"Fine. I'll be there soon..." When Jason hung up, he nearly threw the phone into the lake beside the camp. His grip remained tight on the phone and he finally jabbed the item back into his pocket. Standing up and hauling his rucksack back over his shoulder, followed by the three gun holsters he had, Jason stormed pass Randall and beelined it for his chosen vehicle, a Jeep colored green. A sour frown was on his face as he climbed into the metal, driving machine, turning on the engine and pulling out of the camp. He felt ready to strangle someone. Maybe one the way he could find an outpost he could liberate...

Unfortunately that wasn't so. It was to his misfortune that Jason could drive directly to that god forsaken bridge without running into a single outpost. Climbing angrily out of the Jeep, he glared at the pirate sitting up on the railing of the bridge, feet dangling over the side. He would have pushed him off if it weren't for McDuvan being there. Jason recalled the Privateer from when he first got to this island. The man wanted him to get rid of Langley's relics. The Privateer immediately glared at him the moment he arrived, but Jason paid him no mind as he approached the short male.

"Fosta'!" Lewis cheered, climbing back onto the bridge, ruining Jason's plans. "Aboot toime you'sorreh 'ide showed up! Oi was gittin'all 'orried an' shi'!" A hand waved in the Privateer's direction. "Retrie'th' shi' from'th' car..." Jason watched McDuvan grumpily move towards a large armored car, reaching into the back to pull out a large crate.

"Oi undastan'ya use ziploines a'lo'?" The large crate was set on the ground beside Jason; the wooden top was pried off with a large crowbar. Inside were C-4 charges, but there was something off about them. "We'nee'ta set up the'e babies'all down th'ravine...in e'ery cra'e, riggin', e'erythin'." A grin crossed Lewis' face, looking demented in almost every way. "Ya'git ta set'i' up...then de'onate when ya'git back ta'th' bri'ge...thou'...these are sti'prot'types...blow up one, th'othas will star'ta chain." Jason glared at McDuvan, the Privateer having shoved the testy explosives into his arms.

Glancing over them, Jason gave a grumbling nod, and moved off the right side of the bridge, heading towards the small shack that evidently had the zipline that lead further into the riggings borderlining the ravine that overlooked the deep blue river. Stuffing the C-4 Charges into his explosives sack, before jumping up to grab onto the handle he could use to zipline across the way. Momentum immediately caught hold of him, pulling Jason forward and flying across the river. Wind tussled his brunette hair, the pistol at his hip glistened with the sun's bright rays. His feet touched the ground on the opposite side, and Jason took the time to lock it into place for a quick and easy access back.

One of the charges was then attached to a box of crates that looked about filled to the brim with ammunition. He watched some ammunition go tumbling down from the top of the crate, hitting the pavement and go rolling over the rocky cliff. He stepped back from it, being careful to not cause the thing to detonate. Running down the platform, he slipped into a small mine to plant two more of them amongst the rubble and crates. Jason took up a piece of armor and wrapped it around his shoulders as he jogged out of the cave and back towards the next zipline. Staring out over the ravine, Jason took a hold of the next handle and zipped across to continue planting explosives. This task was relatively easy; all he had to watch out for was a hot surface or jostling the switch he had that made everything explode.

_"How you doing, Foster?"_ Lewis' question came through in the form of a text. Jason scowled at the text as he planted the last one on the legs of a tall guard tower, the one where he stood to take a picture of the meeting in the first place. _"Done."_ Was all he texted back to the Molotov Man. Already on the way back, Jason debated blowing it up immediately and just diving into the water, but he decided against it, already heading towards the zipline that would take him back to the bridge where Lewis and McDuvan were waiting. On the way back, Jason didn't bother to tie off the ziplines, seeing as they'd be destroyed when he clicked the trigger and set off the chain.

He drew all the more closer to the final zipline and before he rode across the ravine, he retrieved the button from his lootsack, thumb digging into the trigger and activating the explosives. From all the way down the ravine, he could see and hear the large explosion. He saw fire spitting out and enveloping even more wooden crates and riggings. More explosions followed and Jason was quick to ride across the zipline before the final few blew up. Jason heard Lewis and McDuvan yowling with laughter at the sight of the explosions and the fire. "Now THAT was something!" McDuvan laughed out, hands crossed over his chest and chiseled jaw stretched open in his laughter. Jason watched, with some discomfort, as the zipline he had just used was enveloped in fire.

He climbed up the minor hill, and pass the tiny shack to get back to the duo, whom were still howling with laughter and excitement from the whole dilemma. Black smoke had begun to pillar up to the sky and Jason could only watch the bright blue begin to turn an inky grey from the amounts of smoke. It began to smell god awful and Jason's nose wrinkled at the very scent of it. McDuvan finally made a noise of discomfort at the smell but Lewis still seemed hyped up about all the destruction he had helped caused. "Well! Those C-4 char'es turned'ou' damn well! A lil' minor twee's an'they'll be per'ec'!" No words were said to McDuvan as Lewis headed to the direction of the armored van they had brought.

Near obediently, McDuvan retacked the lid back onto the crate and hurried it into the back of the van. "Well done Fosta'." Lewis finally spoke. "Oi'll be'in contac'wi' ya if oi need ya'fo' anythin' else...m'kay?" A small noise from Jason and Lewis took it as a sign of approval, when really it was of annoyance. "Don't cause tew'mooch trouble." With a frown, Jason watched the duo climb into the front seat and drive off, leaving him behind with the destruction of the traitor's once safe haven. Smoke still billowed, and Jason shook his head and headed to his own vehicle.


	3. Blame it on the Moonshine

Finally.

Finally he had his chance to calm down. Due to his destruction of the radio signal that broke off all of Hoyt's connection to the outside world, Jason now had to resort to using a dumb walkie talkie to communicate with those dumb pirates that, nowadays, kept getting in contact with him to do certain things for them. However, today was one of the only reasons he felt comfortable heading over to Bridge Control.

Lewis had gotten in contact with him. The always drunken man had bargained with him about taking the night off for once. His exact words mostly involved getting drunk, playing some poker, and trying the new recipe to Lewis' home-made Moonshine. The whole thought of getting completely shitfaced was a great idea in Jason's mind. The main building was where Lewis said they would meet, along with maybe three other pirates. As far as he knew, Langley had said he wanted nothing to do with the party. What was even stranger is that Rock, Clause, and Hopper downright refused to join the party as well.

Pushing open the familiar bright red door, Jason stepped inside the dimly lit room and sat down at the fold up table where three familiar faces sat. The fourth individual was a mystery to him. Those he could recognize were Randall "Rasputin" McGee, Angus Malcreath, and the drunkard himself, Lewis...whose last name was unknown to him. All eyes trained on him the moment he sat down, but it was Angus who was the first to speak.

"Ah! Brody! Glad of you to join." It made him feel slightly uncomfortable that all of the pirates here knew who he really was. "This man is Carlos...he was Vaas' second in command. " He jabbed his finger at the man who he was silently sitting beside him. Carlos gave the Jason a wave with his free hand, before he, Lewis, and Randall let out a noise of anger when Angus messed up all the cards and chips. "Better start over since Brody arrived!" Angus laughed. "I had a bad hand anyways!" Jason saw anger in the other three pirate's eyes, but none of them moved to punch him, shoot him, or strangle him. Instead, Carlos collected all the cards, reassorted all the chips, and shuffled them up with a scowl. This time, it was Randall who spoke up.

"Lewis...did you forget to bring the Moonshine? Cuz seriously...I need to get drunk." Jason's eyes fell on the man's right arm, which was sporting a handmade weapon that had been used against him only once. From what he found out from Hopper, Randall was at a camp he had gone to liberate, and an explosion he shot off had exploded debris into Randall's arm, effectively breaking it beyond all repair. Apparently, Randall's first thought was to chop it off and flee. Now it had been replaced by a metallic prosthetic arm that had a small gun built inside of it. At Randall's question, the Molotov Man grinned a wide grin and leaned down beside his seat, only to lean back up and settle five bottles on the table in front of him.

"A per'ec'ed rec'pe also...cause' mo'buzz an'un." Jason took a bottle when the others did and he popped the cork. A sniff from the lid, a strong scent hit him hard, and he grinned. This would work very nicely to get him hammered. Swirling the contents in the bottle around, he let his eyes shift to Carlos and Randall. The duo were both pouring a small amount into a glass beside them and taking small sips from it. Lewis and Angus were just chugging their's down without a care in the world. Carlos resumed passing out the cards, and before Jason grabbed his own hand, he took a large drink from the Moonshine.

That was the last thing he could remember.

Lazy movement as his own hand sifted through his brown hair. Suddenly his brown eyes shot open and Jason sat up as fast as he could, his head screaming in pain at the brash, abrupt movement. Both hands surged to his temples, rubbing in firm, small circles to help calm his pounding headache. With a quick glance around, he found himself in a small room and clothes-less. A peek under the sheet and he was relieved to find his boxers were still on. Clambering to his feet, Jason stumbled over to the chair and went to put everything back on, the privateer uniform he stole,his lootsack, his grenade holders, and his syringe kit. The only things he couldn't find were his guns and their holsters.

Finally moving to the door, he pushed it open only to discover where he was. Badtown. He was in Badtown. All around him, men and women moved and talked and went about their daily lives like nothing was wrong. A few more steps outside and the radio at his waist began to go off with an awful static sound. Someone was trying to get in contact with him. Removing the walkie talkie, he brought it up to his ear. "Hello-?"

"There you are!" An unknown voice yelled over him angrily. "You said we'd head back at seven...and it's eight." Blinking in confusion, Jason shook his head.

"Right. Right...sorry...uh...where are you right now?" He heard the unknown man huff in annoyance.

"We have the chopper parked on the clear road by Nat's Repairs. Hurry up." The man on the other end disconnected and Jason immediately began to get in contact with the first person he could think of. Langley. When he finally got through, the first thing he could hear was Lassie's heavy panting and the sound of a buzzer.

"Sup?" Langley's voice came through next. He sounded as though he didn't care who he was talking too.

"Uh...I'm at Badtown..."

He heard silence and almost immediately, "You drank the Moonshine. Didn't you?" Jason paused.

"Uh...yeah...can't remember anything that happened last night..." Another hand ran through his hair.

"Mmm yeah...s'why I didn't go...tell you what. Meet me back at Bridge Control and I'll help you out..." A soft sigh of relief left Jason's lips as he disconnected and almost immediately he headed for the exit gate of Badtown. He was glad to see a slightly damaged ATV parked outside the gate and, climbing on, he drove off down the street.

Wind blew through his hair as he drove past Rakyat, and villagers alike. Both slowed down when he passed by and it didn't take too long for him to reach Nat's Repairs. He abandoned the ATV and he glanced down the road when he heard helicopter blades slicing through the air in preparation of departing. The man standing beside the helicopter was neither dressed as a Privateer or a Pirate, so Jason didn't know whether or not he was a friend or foe. Approaching him, the man glanced at him and smirked, hand balling into a fist and beating at the metal door. "He's here." The fist went open-palmed and the door was pulled open for Jason as he approached.

A woman was in the front seat, looking antsy and anxious. She did look sort of familiar. "Yeah. Hurry up and close that door." Jason put on the headset and climbed into the back seat so the woman's co-pilot could take the front. "We'll hover over the island, but we ain't landing. Too dangerous." Jason gave the woman a nod, and watched her flip some switches and up went the copter into the air. Jason peered out the window as the copter flew over the North Island and over the ocean.

"You were shitfaced last night." The female pilot laughed. "Came stumbling over to us, asking if we could take you to the North island for a party you were going to." Jason felt his ears heat up in embarrassment. "Course...Phil here thought you were pretty crazy for not having any weapons on you, considering how dangerous these islands are." Alright. So he did lose them somewhere on South Island. "And now you're gonna go back...hope you have something to break your fall..."

A quick check, and Jason was pleased to see the wingsuit Willus had given him. Quickly checking for any damage, he was glad to see that there were no holes in the tapestry and wings. "Yeah...I'll be fine." He found himself once again peering out the window. The South Island was much closer and Jason was getting more impatient. He just wanted his weapons back and to forget about this whole ordeal.

"Alright. We're ready..." The pilot glanced back at him, eyes sparkling. "Get ready to jump." Jason hauled open the door, removing the headset and passing it forward.

"We will close the door behind you, you mad man. Good luck!" 'Phil' informed from the passenger's side. The wind blew his face and he closed his eyes, letting go of the door and dropping over the side. He plummeted. Lips were pushed together, he let himself fall a while, before extending his arms, the wings catching hold on the wind and allowing him to glide over the vast ocean. The wind wasn't so harsh now and his eyes opened to survey his surroundings. He heard an Eagle's call and a small smirk grew.

This place would have been a nice paradise if there weren't for people trying to kill him at different times of each day. Finally deeming himself close enough to the ground, he pulled the string to his parachute and felt the massive cloth catch fully on the wind and the initial jerk nearly knocked the wind out of him. The drift towards the ground was quick, and when his feet touched the ground, Jason stuffed the parachute back into its pack and took off. He knew where he was and which direction Bridge Control was in. When he got to the outpost, there was a jeep outside with Langley seated inside it. In the back was Carlos and Lassie.

Carlos crossed his arms. "You are a lightweight when it comes to the Moonshine...yet...everyone but Lewis is also..." Jason climbed into the passenger seat. "After we played poker for awhile, you and Lewis declared you were heading to Hoyt's camp to auction some stuff off to the highest bidder..." A hand ran through his shorn hair. "So we best try there first." Langley gave a swift nod, foot pressing into the gas and taking off down the street. Lassie's long tongue hung from her mouth, her coat was much shorter, having been shaved down to her skin. She looked even stranger and, for some reason, much more threatening and ugly than usual.

Langley drove off the street, the tires screeching down the cliff as he applied the breaks and sharply jerked the wheel to the left. The Jeep came to a complete halt in front of the Compound and Jason remembered why he shouldn't ever let Langley drive. Nonetheless, he hauled himself out of the vehicle and the trio, Langley, Jason, and Lassie moved inside. "I'll wait here!" Carlos had called after them. Lassie ran to the head of the group and sat down comfortably in a patch of grass. Jason glanced around the compound and found his eyes falling on a man looking over a gun holster. One of his gun holsters.

"Hey!" Jason found himself running over to the Privateer and Langley ran after him. The man looked up at the exclamation and he looked up at Jason as he drew near.

"Oh...it's you!" The man grinned up at Jason. "Nice guns you got here...didn't know why or how you got them but they're quite-"

"I need them back..." He interrupted the Privateer.

"Oh..." The man scratched at his stubbly chin in thought. "Well...I bought these off you for...about...five-thousand?" More thoughts wen through the man's head. "And these are some fine pieces of metal...well-taken care of and-"

"Come on...I'll pay you back...plus interest." Jason crossed his arms over his chest. It was very easy for him to come about money here. And sure, he didn't need the guns really. It was his gun holsters he really needed. He worked hard finding those animals and skinning them. Jason didn't want to go through that again.

The Privateer seemed to be a bit doubtful and unwilling to trade, but then, "I'll throw in..." the familiar cachik! of a gun, "My MS16..." Langley displayed the gun to the man and Jason saw a twitch of a grin form on the male's face.

"The famous Langley's MS16, eh? The gun he's used to kill many rebels and traitors alike..." The man returned the gun in the holster he was looking at. "You drive a hard bargain...I'll do it..." The Privateer scooted back so Jason could take up all four of his weapons, hanging them over his shoulders and attaching the pistol holster to his thigh. He did miss the familiar weight on him. "Alright! The MS16 please." Langley tossed the gun to the man, which he eagerly caught and settled in his lap. Jason, in turn, retrieved his wallet and pulled out a good six-thousand dollars. The man took that also, and the duo turned away and headed back to the vehicle outside the compound.

"You gave up your original gun to help me...?" Jason asked Langley once they returned to the car.

"Pffft." Langley snorted. "Naah...that gun wasn't the original I started out with on these damn islands. The original MS16 is somewhere at the bottom of the ocean...lost it when we were being taken here after you murdered Vaas." Jason watched Langley put his fingers to his lips, whistling loudly to call for Lassie. A howl responded, and Lassie was in the Jeep beside Jason in a minute tops. The Warrior was thankful Carlos was behind the wheel this time. "Anyways...you mentioned you had some extra items in your rucksack?"

Remembering, Jason nodded and opened the bag in question. "Yeah..." He retrieved a necklace of pearls, some woman's undergarments, a large packet of cocaine, a photo of a man and woman, a strange looking relic with eyes made of emerald, and somehow another bottle of Moonshine. The two pirates stared at the items with their mouths agape.

"Well..." Carlos started with a smirk and a shake of his head, "Where to next?"

"...Probably Lewis..." Jason replied. "I do want to know what I got myself into last night."


	4. Recover Vozrozhdat

Clause was a tall, intimidating figure mounted with muscles, a cold personality, dark eyes that could intimidate a rabid bear, and a fierce looking LMG, along with bullet-proof armor covering his body from surprise attacks. Clause had never once spoken to Jason since he had arrived on the South Island. Hell, he didn't even give him a passing glance. So Jason was quite surprised when it was Clause that had called him to, not Bridge Control, but to Thurston Town. The Heavy was leaning outside the bar, the LMG resting on his shoulder, and his gaze to the fence.

"Foster..." He greeted when Jason approached. A glance around and Jason gave a hum at the Heavy's acknowledgement of his arrival. There were Privateers all around this town...it only made sense why Clause used the fake name. "I have something for you to do...but...ve must head inside..." The man reached into his pocket and withdrew a key, pointing over to one of the houses inside the town. The house was the same house Sam had took him into when they had first met. "Let us go and ve discuss more..." Jason followed the Heavy towards the house and in through the door. He watched the man reach up and tug at the dangling light. The bulb turned bright and revealed the dark room.

"Now listen, Brody..." Clause stated sternly once the door closed. The Heavy Hitter turned to face the smaller man and thick arms crossed over his chest. "I need you to head to North Island...I have boat set up if you so choose to go, but only you can complete this mission vith nobody dying." Jason paused at that, glaring at the other through half-lidded eyes.

"How can I be the only one who can do this without death?" The Warrior swore he saw Clause's lip twitch in a light grin.

"Because...I need you to go into Citra's Temple." The mention of the name made Jason's mouth fall open a bit.

"Why do you want me to go to Citra's Temple? Cuz I can sneak in without being noticed? Do you want me to be placing any explosives to blow them all up?!" Jason was forced to be quiet when Clause's hand stretched out to cover the brunette's lips.

"Shut up...be quiet...I do not need you to place anything. Who do I look like, Lewis?" A brow rose and Clause removed his hand from Jason's face, causing Jason to back-peddle before he could do it again.. "I need you to get something for me. A little box. You see...vhen you killed Vaas, the living pirates ran off to North and South island, taking nothing but shirts on their backs and their flesh..." Jason stepped back from the taller man and glanced upwards to look him in the eye. "We did not have time to take anything else, and vhen Rakyat's came, they commandeered everything there..."

"So you want me to go to Citra's temple to retrieve this thing that you left behind?" A nod was Jason's response.

"Unfortunately I cannot supply a helicopter, for Hoyt vould be getting suspicious. Instead I offer transport on a speedboat." Jason glanced out the dirty window and he grumbled something quietly beneath his breath. "I can give you something in return. I carry no money on me, but I can give upgrades. Upgrades to any and all LMG's you own." Jason let his eyes drift back to look at Clause and he gave a sigh.

"Alright, alright...I'm doing it for the upgrades though." Jason caught the light crack of a grin that appeared on Clause's face and the duo exited the building and headed down to the beach where Clause had stashed the speedboat.

The sea air refreshed the duo as Jason assisted Clause in pushing the speedboat into the water, both jumping on as it floated into the deeper area. Clause settled into the driver's seat, pulling out an old, worn map and making a few marks on it with a pencil that was snapped in two. Jason watched the Heavy stuff the map back into his pant's pocket. "Oh..and if you find anything else, like interesting rectangular box, that is small amount of Lewis' knife collection. If find objects with familiar names on them, feel free to grab them." Jason opened his mouth to retort. "Or risk being called by them to get items back and throw you off your main mission even more than necessary..." That made Jason rethink speaking his mind.

Instead, he watched the Heavy start up the boat and off they skipped across the waves. Schools of fish swam out of the way of the boat's path, choosing the alternative and swimming further beneath the rolling waves. The sky was clear with barely any clouds up in those light blue hues. The waves rolled with their boat, the North Island growing closer and closer with each passing second. A glance upwards again, and he let his head tilt to the side at the helicopter up there. "Ah..." He heard Clause. "Is HagRaven...name of the helicopter that Nyreene flies. She is supplier to the villagers. Brings them seeds to plant crops and other items."

"Nyreene...I met her a few weeks back when I recovered from Lewis' party...who is Nyreene though?" Jason leaned back and the Warrior saw the way the Russian man's face twisted into a snarl.

"Is Veena's little sister." The mention of the woman's name made Jason freeze up. His gaze immediately hit the water. She had gotten in his way. She had followed the boat he and Oliver had used to escape, jumped aboard from a bridge and attacked him. Jason had to protect his friend from the sharp blade of her machete. No matter how many times he had sliced her, she didn't stop.

Only then did he stab her through the chest. Jason could still hear Langley's scream and the way the life had faded in her eyes, the way he slid the blade out and the way her body fell backwards into the river. Afterwards, Jason had spent an hour washing the blood off his knife in the cavern where his friends were. Even now, he still couldn't believe he had murdered a woman, even if she was a murderer herself. A shake of his head brought himself back to reality and he glanced to Clause, the Heavy having fallen silent at the very mention of the woman. "I did give her chances to bail...but she didn't...my friends come first." Once again, Jason fell silent. He had promised to stay with Citra, until he found out Riley was alive. Now, he was torn. Jason swallowed at the cold look that was given to him, the snarl still present on Clause's lips.

"She was our friend." The ride became very awkward for Jason and the brunette just figured he should be quiet until they reached the North Island. The motor shut off the minute the boat pulled up on the beach closest to Citra's Temple, and Jason clambered out of the boat with little difficulty. "I will be waiting here..." A nod was given to the Heavy and the smaller man ran up the beach, passing bushes and trees and the occasional deer herd that fled when he came close. Slowing down when he found one wall of the temple, he walked the length of it until he found the entrance.

The doors opened before him like they always did and Jason took in a deep breath, moving inside. If he was lucky, he wouldn't run into anyone who wanted to talk to him about his goal in killing Hoyt. Walking through a series of hallways, he located a room inside the temple filled with items, some of it resembling useless junk. One Rakyat, whom looked oddly fixated on the items, was standing in the room also. "Uh...hey. You're in charge of looking after these, right?" A glance to the items, he spotted a box with 'Clause' written at the left bottom.

"Mmhmm..." A lazy response as the Rakyat took up a rectangular case. Immediately Jason knew that was Lewis' the moment he opened it up to reveal exotic looking knives. Probably from many different regions and cultures. Lewis also probably stole all of them.

"Yeah...what do I gotta give to get some of this shit for myself?"

"Mmph...this is actually a 'take it if you like it' shelf...the pirate's shit we commandeered isn't really all that impressive...fist time I saw these knives though..." Jason, while the Rakyat was talking, took up the box that Clause wanted him to retrieve, stuffing it into his rucksack. A few more items followed. He'd give them to the owners when he got back to Bridge Control. "Think I'll keep these...these are some fancy fucking knives." Jason gave a snort.

"They look pretty dull to me..." He might as well get the knives now...lest he face Lewis' drunken ranting. The look the Rakyat gave him was of confusion. "Besides, what use would you have them for? They're from different regions, most likely used for different cultures and religions..." A brow raised from the Rakyat. Finally, a snort, the case was closed and set back with the rest of the commandeered items.

"If you want them, Warrior. All you had to do was say so." A huff, and the Rakyat heard a call from outside. Quickly, he made his way out of the room, giving Jason the chance to grab the case and stuff it into his rucksack. All the other names there he didn't recognize, so the Warrior made his way out of the room, pass the meeting Dennis was giving to the men and right back out of the Temple. Waiting for the large doors to close, he finally made his way back in the direction he came, pushing through the plant life and stepping out onto the beach.

"You got the box?" Clause was not in the boat, moreso outside of it and getting ready to push the boat right back into the water to depart.

"Mhm." Jason retrieved the small box from the sack and held it out to the Heavy. He watched as the massive man took a hold of the box as delicately as he could and flicked it open. The contents inside were hidden from Jason's view. "What's in there...if I can ask?" Jason saw Clause's eyes raise to meet his, and another small grin crossed is face. An item was removed, a small locket. He didn't expect to see something like that.

"Is filled with favorite pictures of family..." The locket was opened and the contents were revealed. "Little boy is little brother back in Russia. Old woman is mother. All my paychecks I get here go to them to keep them living comfortably..." Jason eyed the family, bright smiles despite the cold snow they were covered in. "I plan on going home...once Hoyt is taken care of. Hoyt is using family as means of keeping me in line. That, and life here is too soft for man like me." Jason couldn't help the laugh that left his lips.

"Big guy like you would think even Russia is too soft. You can take on anything, big guy." Jason was relieved when Clause returned the laugh, giving one big push to get the boat into the water and the duo hopped aboard once again. Clause tucked the locket into his pocket and sat behind the wheel.

"Let us head back before we are missed, da?" Jason nodded and with that, the duo's boat took off back across the waves.


	5. Burn the Evidence

"You see my predicament?"

Jason was leaning back in a chair across from Rock. Rock was just as big as Clause with dark skin, dark hair, chisled features and chocolate hues. He had welcomed Jason when Langley had first explained to them that they were helping him. The flamethrower carrying Heavy had his arms crossed and he kept a straight look on his face. "Hoyt requests me to go and burn everything down...however...I already have work to be doing here." The warrior could already see where this was going, and Jason really had no problems doing it. "But...I want you to take this..." Rock jabbed a finger at a fine looking flamethrower. "I built it with the parts you retrieved for me from Citra's temple. Thank you for that, by the way." Jason gave a nod and heaved himself up, moving to the flamethrower. Taking it up tightly in his grasp, he examined it thoroughly. It felt right.

"Extended range, a larger canteen holding the gasoline, and the hotter the gas, the more dangerous and devastating the area will be left." Rock heaved himself up as well and moved towards the other. "You go to this location," A map with a circled location was handed to Jason and he continued, "Destroy everything there and leave nothing left of the temple or traitors." Jason let his hands run over the flamethrower and, removing the shotgun from one of his holsters, he fit the flamethrower in and grinned.

"Yeah...I can handle them...handle them like I did Vaas' weed fields that one time." He glanced over when he heard a snort of amusement from Rock.

"Langley was there and he wasn't happy...Man was crazy and antsy for a week until we got new shipments from this island..." Jason laughed at Rock and he glanced to where Langley was. The pirate's feet were currently propped up on a sleeping Lewis, whom was on the ground with his head leaning against a crate. Langley looked completely out of it, judging from the cigar between his fingers.

"Hoyt must be working you guys to the bone these days..." Jason added in with a light frown replacing his smile.

"It is true. Thanks to your liberating outposts, more Rakyat have shown up. You are lucky we are in charge of this place and the area around it." Jason gave a nod and finally he was dismissed to do his thing. "Contact me or head back here once you're done." Rock told him with a crooked smile and a wave. Jason gave Rock a thumbs up as the Heavy turned and began walking towards the main building. He probably had a lot of paperwork to start on. A brief check of the map, and Jason clambered onto the ATV outside the camp. A turn of the ignition, and the the vehicle came to life with a humm. The new flamethrower felt right in one of three gun holsters he had hanging from his back. Like he was meant to own this new weapon. The large tires caught onto the road and pulled him and the vehicle forward. Jason revved the engine and put on some speed to get to the location much quicker.

Jason cut corners, driving off road, and carefully down steep cliffs. Jason would have to in order to get to the destination anyways. The location was somewhere within the jungle inside an old temple. The ATV jerked side to side as he went off road, driving over rocks and plants, and probably a few mice. Turning the music off, he listened for the voices of the traitors. He wasn't fully sure how close he was to the nearest outpost he had yet to liberate, but he could just barely hear the chatter of men through the thick span of trees. The ATV was shut off and ever so quietly, he removed the flamethrower from his back and followed the voices. He stepped over branches and bushes, grinning lightly as he grew closer. Peering around an old tree, he spotted two Privateers talking angrily.

"Some Privateer named Foster broke down the old riggings. It's bullshit!" One growled while the other nodded his head in agreement.

"It is utter bullshit. The leaders were even killed and the list with all the names was given to Hoyt!" Glancing at the knob that controlled the heat of the fire, he turned it up from yellow, to orange. A deep blue color appeared to be the hottest flame setting. The flame flicked once, twice, three times before settling and Jason decided now was a good time as any to begin wrecking the traitor's new base. He stepped out of hiding, pulled the trigger and surprised the men that had been chatting.

"Shit!" They only had time to screech the word, before they completely burned to death. The smell of scorched flesh made Jason's nose wrinkle and he turned his gaze to the entrance of the temple. Yelling from the living traitors told the Warrior that they were on their way. Jason grinned when the fire already began to catch hold on the temple itself, and quickly, he ran inside to finish the job and bring an end to the traitor's lives.

Each traitor privateer Jason ran into, he torched to blackened corpses. The smell was still god awful, but he continued on with his assigned work. The further in he went, the more the place began to catch fire and the more lives he took. Still, he found no signs of the captains in charge. Time ticked on, the fire began to spread and smoke began to fill up the cramped space. Less and less people ran to fight the further he moved in.

Sliding to a halt as he neared the final room, Jason peeked inside and saw three Heavies. A small, quiet curse, before he whipped out his knife. If he was lucky, Jason would be able to chain kill the Heavies and be done with this whole thing altogether. These Heavies were probably the Captains of this pathetic squadrant and he was more than ready to deal with them. Spinning the knife in his grip, Jason rolled out of hiding and dug the knife straight into the gut of the first Heavy, stabbing hard and pushing through that thick armor they wore. The knife was torn out, the body kicked to the side, and the knife entered the back of the second Heavy. The same results happened. The body dropped and Jason turned to the final Heavy. The last Heavy was staring calmly at the knife in Jason's hands, unaffected by the fire for the armor he wore was fireproof. Unlike the other two Heavies, he was a Flamethrower carrying Heavy.

"Ah, so Rock sent you in his place...must be a busy man to not face his destiny." The Heavy shook his head with a disappointed look and withdrew his own Flamethrower. The flamethrower itself wasn't too impressive, but the fireproof armor told Jason he'd have to use something other than the flamethrower Rock was kind enough to let him use. And he knew he had lost his chance to swiftly kill the man with his knife.

"I don't know what you're getting at, but Rock doesn't have time to show up to fucking kill you." The angered look on the man's face gave Jason some gratification. It wasn't hard to piss people off here. "'sides, a respectable, high status pirate like him doesn't have to face a wimp bitch like you."

"That man stole my title! That man should have come to face his death with honor!" The Flamer Heavy shouted and Jason just snorted in response. A glance to the walls, and Jason began to panic when he saw just how fast this place was coming down. He had to finish this. Jason had to kill the Heavy before him. Jabbing the knife back into its holster, he whipped out his Ace, holding it tightly in his grip. "Cheating in a flame war!" This man is nuts, Jason thought. Then again, this was Rook Island, home to insane pirates and privateers galore. Hell, even some of the Rakyat and villagers were crazy.

"Yeah...I've never been a 'follow the rules' sort of guy..." Jason hissed, pulling the trigger and firing rapidly at the Heavy. The man ducked out of the way, raising his own weapon and flames erupted from the nozzle at Jason. He ducked out of the way just in the nick of time, but the heat was beginning to get to him. Sweat was dripping from his forehead.

"In this fight, you will not win! I have the element on my side! I am fireproof!" A crick of a grin flashed on Jason's face as he stepped out of hiding once again.

"Yeah...but you're not bulletproof."

Jason went running out of the temple as it collapsed behind him. He had filled the man in charge full of bullet holes and caused even more fires in the belly of the temple. This time, he hoped every single last one of the traitors were gone now. He was getting bored of having to deal with them. Jason jumped onto the ATV he had parked, watching the entire temple go up in flames. The fire raged on, engulfing the leaves and trees and bushes around the temple. Smaller rodents ran for cover. A light grin, and he drove off back to Bridge Control. When he arrived at the outpost in question, Rock was standing on the second floor of the main building, watching black smoke filter into the sky. "Nice job Brody..." He complimented. "Very nice job. Sie sind ein wahrer Krieger."

"I have to meet up with-"

"I understand. Your payment for helping me is the flamethrower." He gestured to the weapon in Jason's holster. The brunette glanced at it and sent a light grin at Rock.

"Thanks...get in contact with me if you need anything else, alright?" There was a nod from Rock and Jason went off on his way, thinking that out of all the pirates, Rock had to be the one he respected the most.


	6. Temples, Relics, and traps

The ocean was a vast, miraculous thing. It stretched on for miles both horizontally and vertically. Creatures thought extinct still survived down in the deepest, darkest depths. It held vast, underwater caverns and ruins and temples that nobody has ever documented or explored. These temples and ruins held vast amounts of treasure and relics. To Jason, the ocean was all the more beautiful and mysterious surrounding Rook Island. The water was crystal clear and there were fallen temples, hidden relics, and a sense of urgency for all the sharks and wildlife that surrounded them.

Standing on the beach, Jason waited for Lewis to show up. The man had contacted him in a hurry, yelling something about a temple he had found near Thurston Town. The temple, Lewis explained, was deep in the depths and hidden behind closed doors, built in the ground beneath the dark waves. But there were underwater caverns that lead further inside to the main temple, possibly ridden with traps from past generations. Lewis told him that there was this relic he needed for a certain mission he had to do. So here he was, waiting for the crazy drunkard to show his face.

Jason heard a large armored vehicle park on the beach. The sand sunk in around the large tires. He could hear Lewis laughing as he turned off the radio and engine and settled comfortably. Lewis stepped out of the front seat, walking down the beach to meet the other man. Hands were bunched into his pockets, and strange, light-bluish, greenish grenades were attached to grenade straps at his hips.

"Brody!" Soft chuckles as the man approached the other, ripping off those grenades and offering them to the warrior. "Th'temple ya'need t'break inta is sea'ed an' undawata'. Oi need ya'ta use 'ese grena'es oi made t'ablow up 'ose dawrs."

Jason took those grenades, looking over their bluish texture with a disapproving frown. "Grenades don't work underwater." He pointed out, thinking that the Molotov flinging man had forgotten how bombs worked. "They only work if you deploy them above ground." All Jason was rewarded with was that familiar, god awful hyena laughter that spouted from Lewis' lips.

"Nah, nah, nah...ese'are prota'ype, wata'-proof grena'es! Oi mad'em a fe'weeks ago!" He took one of the grenades from Jason's hands, walking knee-deep into the water and pulling the cord beneath the waves. Jason watched as the seconds tick by. Lewis hadn't seemed to release the grenade. If the damn thing did blow up, Lewis would have his entire arm blown off.

"Lewis! Throw the fucking grenade!" Those crazed eyes flicked to Jason, Lewis let out a loud bark of laughter. He stood straight, pulling his arm back, and launching it out deeper into the ocean. The small bomb hit the water and exploded. Jason glared at the man, but Lewis snickered.

"Waw'rried oi'd blow meh'and off? HAH!" The man would have continued laughing, if it wasn't for Jason dropping the prototype grenades into the sand in favor of marching over to the man, grabbing a fistful of his obnoxiously red uniform and punching him as hard as he possibly could in the cheek. The Molotov man stumbled back, but despite the pain, continued his laughter. "Alroigh', alroigh'..."

"I'll just use C-4 charges." Jason hissed, pushing past Lewis, and moving towards the water. "I'll get that thing you need and bring it back..." He walked further and further into the waves until he could lay flat and swim. Jason had made a few Deep Dive syringes for this occasion, seeing as he had to dive deep below the ocean surface to get to the water worn temple. As he waded through the waves, Jason took out one of the syringes, jabbing it into his arm. A breath was taken, and Jason dived downwards.

Schools of fish fled out of their groups to get away from him. Jellyfish swam calmly around him, and there were no signs of sharks. He did see a few off in the distance, but they made no moves to come closer. The further down he went, the darker it turned. Jason paused to flick on the waterproof flashlight he had, lighting his way and revealing the temple built inside a wall.

Swimming closer, Jason's brow rose at the missing door. He swam through, evading the jagged ends of stone, through a long, dug out tunnel and upwards. He popped through the surface of a lake, inside the large dug out area. Swimming around in a full circle to get a look of the place, Jason finally swam towards the shore.

Heaving himself out of the water, Jason took the time to admire the large stone steps that escalated up to the temple entrance. Jogging up those steps, Jason's wet form approached the large stone door. Hands pressing against it, he knew this was where he had to place the C-4 charges. Just by feeling the door, he knew it was thick, but deteriorating due to the time it spent down here.

One C-4 removed, he stuck it to the door and set a timer. One should be enough to bring down the ancient door, and not the entire temple. His hopes were realized as the C-4 blew up, taking only the door and some of the frame out with it. A crooked grin marred Jason's face, and back up the stairs he went and through the door.

Jason was faced with a long hallway stretching out to a looming cliff, the path between it was broken but vines hung from the ceiling and in between the two platforms. Along the walls were golden frames, looking as though they were here to support the foundation itself. Inside the golden rafters were strange little holes that appeared to have no purpose there. A breath, and Jason ran forward, leaping off the cliff, catching hold of one of the vines, and using the momentum to swing to the other cliffside. His feet touched the ground and Jason snorted.

That wasn't going to stop him.

Continuing on his way through the long passage, Jason examined even more golden supports, some worn golden steps up to a golden alter. On either side of the golden staircase was nothing but darkness. The pit went down deep and the brunette couldn't see the bottom of it. Quickly running up the steps to the alter, Jason was greeted to the sight of a small, but pure gold relic with sapphire eyes. It was truly beautiful and it glinted brightly when Jason's flashlight shone on it. The reflected light spanned out, illuminating some of the area around them.

Approaching the relic, he looked over the item with an appreciation. Why did Lewis want this? Remembering what happened with the knife and Buck, Jason glanced around for any ropes or spikes that would activate traps. When he didn't see any, Jason figured he'll just deal with them head on. Opening up his ruck sack, Jason raised his hand in preparation of grabbing the item. He wetted his lips with his tongue, before he swiped the item and stuffed it into his bag.

A loud creaking sound followed. Jason closed the sack and backed up to the stairs. Then, he heard a loud ticking noise. "I think it's time to go..." Jason turned and dashed away from the alter, running down the stairs, skipping a few as he did so. The minute he got to the bottom step, Jason heard the explosion. Turning around, his eyes near popped out of his head at the sight of lava gushing from the broken golden alter, rushing down the stairs after him. "Son of a bitch!" Jason cursed, picking up speed and dashing down the hallway. The lava was gaining fast.

Jason leapt across the pit, grabbing hold of the vine and swinging to the other side. Landing safely, he turned to look behind him, relieved that the lava plummeted into the pit. The relief didn't last long, because a sharp joint entered his arm. A cry of pain, Jason glanced down, only to see a long, thin spike sticking out of his arm. This was starting to remind Jason of Indiana Jones. Taking off again, the brunette heard more spikes go flying from the walls. Another few were lodged into his sides, and two more hit his calf.

The ground began to shake, the destruction of the temple had begun. Down the stairs Jason went, diving into the water to escape the traps of the temple. Wading deep in the water, Jason watched the inner temple begin to collapse on itself. Jason pressed another Deep Dive syringe into his arm and dived down for the exit.

Lewis was still up on the beach by the time Jason resurfaced. Taking deep gasping breaths, Jason swam for shore. Lewis ran to the water's edge to help pull the wounded man onto the beach. "Ya'ge' th' re'ic?" There came the question. Jason took his time ripping out each individual spike, before reaching into the ruck sack to retrieve the item, holding it out to the Molotov Man. The relic was snatched from Jason and held up in the sun's rays to be examined. "Yep...this is'i'...mee'ya' back a'th' car." Jason opened his mouth to yell something, but Lewis was already walking towards the armored van parked in between two trees. Jason stood, taking one of his medical syringes and pressing it into his arm.

With that done, Jason heaved his wet, hurt body up to his feet and limped to the vehicle, climbing into the passenger's seat. Lewis was using a rag to vigorously scrub at the relic, trying to get it as clean as clinically possible. "What the hell Lewis?" Jason grumbled to him quietly, voice still housing pain. "Why did you want me to go into that death trap to get that?" A simple grin was given back to Jason.

"Why...fo'Langi'ly of course...'is'birfday's tomo'rra, afta' all."


	7. Stealing Back the Hag

White and black streaked fur stretched with the way the tiger moved. A long tail flicked slowly behind the creature as it stalked through the foliage. The scope of the SVD Sniper Rifle followed the large cat's movements. A brunette haired man watched the rare cat move slowly through the trees and bushes of the mountain, unaware of the human's presence. Jason didn't know how much that rare tiger's fur would sell for but they'd better hope there were more than one of them.

The scope trailed down the cat's body, focusing in on the tiger's head. Jason watched the big cat lay in a pile of leaves, looking oh so comfortable in its nest. Jason would have pulled the trigger, ended the cat's life, but the walkie talkie on his waist began to spout a female's voice, sounding panicked and worried. Lowering the scope when he was certain the tiger was staying put, the brunette took the radio and responded. "Who is this? I don't recognize your-"

"It's me...the pilot that helped you get back to the South Island?" Jason felt himself freeze. It was Nyreene, the pilot of the helicopter, HagRaven. Swallowing, Jason ran a hand through his hair and played it cool. "I need your help...awhile back when I was delivering goods to Gaztown, Privateers struck, took my helicopter, the HagRaven, and had taken Phil hostage." Jason listened to the female as she continued. "I need your help getting them back...at least Phil if you can..." Peeking up to take a look at the white tiger, Jason hummed lightly.

"Sure sure...where should we meet?"

"Near the Compound." Was Nyreene's answer.

"I'll meet you there..." Her side went dead and the radio was placed back at his waist. Another glance to the tiger, Jason gave a slight grin when he saw another white tiger walk over to the one lying down. Two white little cubs where stumbling at its feet. Getting out of the area as quickly as possible, Jason slid down the steep side of the cliff towards his vehicle. He supposed he'll let them live a bit longer. Climbing into his chosen jeep, Jason drove back onto the road and headed off into the direction of Hoyt's compound. The Hawaiian music that played made the man grin as he drove along.

The area around the compound was clear. Nyreene was nowhere to be seen, nor another vehicle that showed signs of the woman's presence. Climbing out of his jeep, Jason walked down the small slope of a hill and spotted a very familiar woman leaning against one of the trees, looking as casual and calm as ever. Jason approached her.

"Thanks for showing up...they're keeping them both at the hangers where they keep all the airplanes and copters." The female patted a green Technical, her brow raising as she climbed into the front seat, looking at Jason and expecting him to climb on board.

"We best head out now, before it gets dark...when we get there, the darkness can give us cover while we sneak in." Jason agreed, climbing in the passenger's side. The trip was short. The plane hangers were not so far from the Compound but a quick glance around and Jason looked to Nyreene. "I'll go in first...survey the surroundings. Tell you if I find Phil or the Hag..." The woman gave a soft nod and sunk into the tall bushes. He wouldn't have been able to see her if he didn't look thoroughly.

Jason jogged inside, maneuvering himself around the lone rubble piles and engines and planes. He found Privateers standing around, minding their own business. In his disguise, the other men greeted him like an old friend. To keep up the ruse, he waved to them as he passed, heading further into the hanger.

Then he heard yelling. A glance inside one of the buildings and he found Phil, sitting in a wooden chair with his arms tied behind his back and a stern look on his face. Privateers sat in the room with him, jeering at him and trying to get information out of him. A Desert Eagle, probably belonging to Phil himself, was jabbed up under the man's chin.

"Where's your boss, eh? The owner of that copter?" Jason would have moved inside more to survey Phil's injuries, but another Privateer stopped him.

"This area is off limits, for now. There is an interrogation going on at the moment." Jason stepped back and eyed the way Phil kept his face remarkably straight and how quiet he was. Jason watched the Privateer inside move the gun to press it against Phil's head.

"Start talking or you'll get shot!" The Privateer snapped, only to receive a crooked grin from the co-pilot.

"Shoot me and you'll never find her..." The Privateer's lips pulled into a snarl, the Desert Eagle was shoved back onto a table and he stood angrily.

"Someone else interrogate him. I need a drink..." The angry man pushed past Jason and he figured to continue on and find out where the HagRaven was kept. Passing a spitroast, he stared at the familiar helicopter stashed not too far behind the pit. Privateers were emptying out the contents: crates of food, gallon-sized jugs of clean water, and other needed things for the villagers to survive.

At this time, Jason figured he should head back to Nyreene and wait for nighttime to fall. The night would give them cover to sneak in and free Phil, and even the HagRaven if they weren't discovered by that time. Walking back out of the Hanger, Jason moved into the foliage and crouched beside Nyreene.

"I found both of them..." He saw her perk up with a grin. "But Phil is in an interrogation room and all the cargo from your HagRaven has been unloaded."

"That's no problem..." Nyreene replied with a wave of her hand. "I can always get more. It is not hard to come by. People I know in Bangkok have tons of donated supplies to give. I can go pick them up again and redistribute them among Rook islands." Jason gave a slight nod and looked up towards the sky.

"It'll be dark very soon now. We just have to be patient." Jason saw the female nod, and comfortably seat herself in the tall bushes.

"Very soon Phil...you will be freed..." Night fell quickly, the sky turned a dark grey and the stars marred the skies like scars. Nyreene clambered to her feet, but remained crouched in the bushes. Jason gave a nod and Nyreene swore she saw the Warrior attach something to a tree.

"Alright..." He kept his voice down. "We'll move on through the perimeter outside the buildings. Then we can weave through one of them and get to the building where Phil is being held..." Jason krept out from the bushes with the female directly behind him. Together, they maneuvered through the backside of the buildings, evading patrolling privateers. Sneaking in through a building, the duo moved across the near empty courtyard and into the building where Phil was kept.

The man was still tied in a chair, his nose broken and bleeding, his lip split and the area around his left eye was a bluish-purple. Phil's head rose when he heard someone approaching, and his attitude changed when he saw Jason and Nyreene standing there, looking oh so quite clever.

"Boss..." His voice was kept quiet, just above a whisper. That frown was replaced with a bloody grin and he watched calmly as Jason moved forward to slice his machete through the thick ropes. The man leaned forward in his seat, grinning widely at the duo. "Knew you wouldn't leave me hanging when I saw ya, kid..." Phil mumbled with good humor to Jason. The Warrior returned the grin.

"Alright...keep your voices down...we need to sneak past the spitroast and get you guys to your HagRaven..." Both heads bobbed, reminding Jason of bobble heads for a brief amount of time.

"Phil..." Nyreene motioned to the taller, older man. "Grab your stuff...the spare keys also..." The co-pilot nodded again and to the table he went, stuffing his pockets with small items, the Desert Eagle, and making sure to snap the key to one of the belt loops on his pants.

"All good, Captain..." Phil spoke with a grin. Together, the trio moved out of the building and moved back to the outer edges of the hanger. Silently they stalked, pausing in the shadows when a Privateer passed by.

"Alright...I'll go and distract the Privateers around the roast...wait for my signal, then take back your Helicopter..." Jason, without waiting for a response, moved into view and approached the men talking and eating calmly. "Hey..." Hummed greetings from each man stuffing their face; some had removed helmets and scarves so the items would not get in the way. By the looks of it, they were eating some of those Buffalo that roamed the hills beside the hanger. Taking a seat beside one of the Heavies, part of the Buffalo's leg was offered to him, which he took gratefully.

"Good job with those traitors, Foster..." A man spoke from across the spittle. "We heard from Sam. All of us were unaware they were even there..." The men on either side of him gave his back a slap, both laughing.

"Good find, good find! All of those other men at the Compound...there are probably jealous." A buck-toothed man laughed. He looked about Grant's age, with buzz-cut sandy blond hair. He wagged a Buffalo's leg bone in his direction. "If Hoyt recognized me, I'd be walking tall too! That man's the business boss! King of the market!" The male was cuffed on the back of the head.

"Oh shut it Wiggins!" The larger man laughed and Jason felt awkward. For murderous thugs, they certainly behaved like they were normal human beings.

Then there was an explosion. The Privateer's heads all jerked behind them, standing up and grabbing their weapons. Jason mimicked them, thinking that placing the C-4 on the tree to use as the distraction was quite a good idea. His eyes flicked to the shadows as some of the Privateers around the pit began to move towards the sound of the explosion. There, he saw Nyreene and Phil go running from the shadows and dashing for the Hag. Jason watched them yank open the doors and climb in front, closing them tight behind them.

"It's Nyreene!" The sandy haired Privateer had seen them. The other's heads jerked behind them at the name and the sound of helicopter blades slicing through the air as the aircraft started up. Jason saw them all raise their guns to open fire, but the brunette watched Phil chuck something out the window down at them.

"Smoke grenade!" A heavy yelled just before thick black and grey smoke began pillowing out of the small grenade. The smell was even worse than burned corpses. Coughing, Jason ran in one direction, getting out of the gas and looking up to the sky. The HagRaven was raising higher and higher into the sky, and he saw Phil give him a salute before off they went.

The smoke eventually cleared, and the Privateers cursed as they watched the helicopter turn into a speck on the horizon. "Damnit...Hoyt's inner circle's gonna have our asses on a silver platter!" The sandy haired Privateer complained loudly, dropping his gun and sitting heavily by the fire. He looked like he was pouting.

"Please..." Another spoke, drawing Jason's attention. "The most that'll happen is getting yelled at...now if it were Snow White that got away..." Jason saw each individual shiver at the very thought. The brunette chose to hang around a while longer, to not appear suspicious. Suddenly appearing and suddenly leaving would definitely make each Privateer know it was his fault. A slab of Buffalo was once again handed to him by one of the Privateers and Jason figured he'll eat and leave.

Besides, he still had to hunt that White Tiger...


	8. Stories and Stones

Footsteps walked calmly down the slope beside the river. It was a peaceful, cloudless day here at Bridge Control. Jason could hear birds chirping, and the river rushing calmly downstream. But for once, Jason couldn't hear music being blasted over the speakers. He really didn't see all that many of the pirates here at the camp, save for a few lingering unfamiliar pirates. The only man who was recognizable was Langley and the pirate was currently sitting In a fold up chair at the middle of the slope with one of his gross cigars pulled up to his lips.

"Langley?" Eyes fluttered open and drifted over in Jason's direction when he heard the sound of his name. Only then did Jason notice Lassie laying at Langley's side, seeming to be caught in a deep sleep. He approached and noticed another fold-up chair beside Langley's and his brow rose slowly. "What'cha need me for this time?" The way Langley looked at him told Jason he was already long gone from the drugs.

"S'not a mission this time..." Langley hummed quietly, rolling the cigar in between his fingers. "Just lonesome..." He gestured to the chair beside him. "Gimme some company til the others come back..." Jason's brow rose slowly, disbelievingly. "I swear you'll learn a thing or two."

"You want me to just hang out? I could be going off and ruining more of Hoyt's things. There's tons of things I'd rather-"

"Just for awhile at least?" Langley was quick to interrupt him. "I got some snacks and beer...?" Langley was staring at him with those damned brown eyes. Jason hated the way they could go from cruel and heartless to innocent and curious. It must have been the amount of weed the guy smoked everyday. A loud groan and Jason sat down in the chair beside Langley and snatched up a bottle of the alcohol.

"Fine." Jason popped the bottle to the beer and pressed it to his lips, swallowing the liquid greedily. Silence befell the two of them for awhile and curiosity got the better of him. Finally he asked, "Where'd they go, anyways? The other pirates?" Langley's head rolled to glance at him, lips pursed together in thought.

"All'a them are on this mission...they're cleanin' up all the lil' things you did with the traitors." The cigar to his lips, the pirate inhaled deeply and exhaled the smoke slowly. They twisted into rings before fading away softly. Jason leaned back a bit more, a sour look still on his face. "You cause'a whole lotta trouble, you know~" Langley cooed at the other in a sickly tone.

"I gotta do what I gotta do." Jason grumbled, reaching down to snatch up one of the containers beside the cooler full of beer. Looking over the label, he snorted at the almond logo there. It had been awhile since he ate something. The lid was popped and a handful of peanuts were stuffed into his mouth. Another swallow of his beer to wash it all down and a glance was sent back at Langley. He was staring at him all funny with this dazed sort of look in his eye. "What?"

"Ya just...I can't fathom somethin..." Langley began. "Why the hell you'd wanna come to this island? Like...didn't yer mama ever teach ya to not take invitations from strangers?" Jason gaze a snort, thinking that the man was just kidding. But when he saw Langley was still looking at him, as if expecting an answer, he grit his teeth together as he recalled the night he had met Doug. He recalled the drinking, the club, grinding bodies, and the laughing DJ. He remembered the way Riley and Keith got into trouble with a pimp's bitch, the way a fight broke out on the dance floor. The run to the elevator, and the introductions.

The offer to come to this island.

Jason remembered it all. His grip tightened just a tad on the neck of the bottle, fingers threatening to break it. "I could say the same to you! Why did you even come here?" Langley was staring right at the Warrior with an unfocused gaze. Slowly, he blinked and his lips turned downwards into a frown. The cigar was to his lips in an instant, breathing in the fumes deeply. The smoke was released after a minute and Langley chuckled lightly.

"Well...I came her the same way you did..." Jason's brow rose. "I didn't parachute in or anything...I came by boat." The butt of the cigar was tapped against the armrest, some ashes spilling out into the dirt. "But I was taken as a prisoner like you..." Langley even didn't have to look at Jason to know his mouth had fallen open in shock, awe, and possibly horror. "I just got out of it a different way." Langley sat forward in his seat, tapping a wound in his head with his pointer finger. "I was a reject though..."

"Wait. You were on death row...?" Jason couldn't believe what he was hearing! Langley, one of the pirates within Vaas' inner circle didn't even start out as a lowly pirate, but a reject. "Why'd they change their minds-"

"They did after they shot a bullet through my head." Langley glanced at the river, narrowing his eyes when he saw a crocodile settling itself on the dry ground out in the sun. It looked very comfortable there. He heard Lassie growl a warning from his side, but otherwise she made no moves to chase the thing back into the water. "Noticed I wasn't dead, Carlos ran a scan on my head...found out I had my skull fractured with this...strong plate keeping my skull together. I think its bulletproof cuz I'm not dead yet."

"So that's how you lived when I shot you!" Jason snapped, cutting off Langley's story and earning himself a startled look from his outburst. In better humor, he added, "You cheated!" Jason gave half a grin when the thin man gave a chuckle at his words. "So...basically you can't be shot in the head to get killed?" A nod came from Langley, the cigarette was back to his lips, inhaling deeply and releasing the smoke out between his teeth. "How'd you even get that around your skull though?"

"I was in an accident." Langley replied coolly, flipping the cigar between drug-induced fingers. "Fractured my skull...doctors said it was a miracle I survived..." Langley reached over to snatch up the can of almonds, stuffing a handful into his mouth. "But after that, my entire world went to shit...lost my job, lost my house, lost the girlfriend." Jason could hear the man crunching on the almonds in his mouth. His teeth ground into them as he thought over his next words. "Moved in with a friend. Friend took me on a trip and we ended up here..."

"What happened to your friend?" Jason got a look that said he should know what happened to him. Jason chose to take another gulp from the beer to keep himself from having to say anything more. Silence fell between them. The crocodile that had pulled up onto shore returned to the river. "So..." Langley stared at him with a confused look. "How'd you get up to Vaas' inner circle?"

"Worked hard, proved my worth." Langley grumbled between swallows of his beer and Almonds. "Killed a few guys who threatened my life." A crick of a grin formed on Langley's face once all food in his mouth was swallowed. "And took a bullet for the boss..." The look on Langley's face, despite his drugged, dazed look, seemed to be regretful of having protected Vaas. "I was invited to the Compound, to exist in the inner circle and protect the merchanise..." Jason and Langley both seemed to perk at the sound of a jeep pulling to a stop, loud music blaring over the speakers.

"It seems the others are back..." Jason pointed out, wincing at already being able to hear Lewis' obnoxious laughter. Sometimes he just wished the man would have his mouth sewn up. A glance at Langley; the man was still seated in his chair, staring straight ahead at the river with an unrecognizable look on his face. Jason's brow rose slowly, he shook the thinner man by his shoulder to catch his attention once again. "Langley?"

"Gotta admit though..." Langley started, eyes closed as he soaked in the sun's rays. "I made some pretty fuckin' great friends. Was given Lassie." By now, Jason could see Angus at the top of the hill, chatting idly with Randall and Hopper. Jason stood to leave, hearing Langley still talking as though he didn't know Jason was leaving. "I do wonder what happened to Oswald though..." Walking up the slope, Jason was greeted by the trio, their brows raised when they saw him.

"What're you doing here?" Hopper asked, confusion taking over his face and tone. Jason gestured down the slope to Langley, whom was still speaking, but much softer. They all sounded like mumbles now. "Ah...gave him some company?"

"Learn anything new?" Angus asked with a snicker and Jason merely glanced back at the trio with a blank look. Instead of saying anything, Jason passed them, heading for his jeep. No more words were said to any Pirate he passed. With this new information, all Jason could think of was why the other pirates came to this island.


	9. Hopping Cassowaries!

Alright, So I have began to run out of ideas for these stories and it's really beginning to get harder and harder to write these. So if you guys have any ideas, feel free to send your own ideas! I would be forever grateful!

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A gun was trained upwards towards the sky, and the trigger was pulled. The birds loitering the skies above Gaztown squawked and fled out of the path of the bullets. Jason's brow rose at the pirate standing in the middle of the road, grinning wickedly as a few of the birds fell to the ground. Jason didn't know why the man wasn't using the gun in his prosthetic arm, but whatever floated Randall's boat, he guessed.

"Randall!" Jason called to the pirate, drawing his gaze off the birds and towards him. Randall, in his mind, was indestructible. He was littered with scars from everything! Animal attacks, bullets, machete blades, and burns loitered his torso, his right eye was completely blind, and his left arm now a working weapon. He had ran into Randall a few times on the North Island. The most memorable time was when he liberated Camp Murder. Randall had been there. The pirate, missing arm and all, had ran a knife through his stomach.

Randall had accepted him when he first came to Bridge Control. The man would try to include him in their conversations, try to make Hopper relax around him, and invite him to parties they held there every night. It was nice, but Jason usually had to miss out on the parties, seeing as he was trying to kill their boss, Hoyt.

"Foster!" Randall laughed and approached him, his one good eye looking him over. "Thanks for showing up! I was in need of your help!" That was when Jason noticed what was sitting at Randall's feet. A fat Basset Hound with a dopey expression on his face sat in the dirt, staring up at Jason with a sort of exhausted look. Jason squatted by the animal, lazily scratching at his ears.

"Yeah...I'm taking a break right now...liberating areas, stalking up on grenades and syringes..." He stood, hands leaving the Hound's ears. He heard the thing whine a bit at the loss, but he settled down quickly when Randall nudged the dog with the toe of his boot. "So what do you need?"

"Honestly, I've been sent on a hunting mission from Rock. He and Carlos cook for the pirates at our camp." A roll of his hand. "He recently has acquired some intelligence. About a certain day in the year. July 6th..." Randall gave a wide grin. "In America, it's National Fried Chicken day!" Randall saw the way Jason's face morphed into a look of confusion. "Rock, in his infinite wisdom, decided that it was a great minor holiday to celebrate. So we're hunting Cassowaries."

"Cassowaries are definitely not chicken." Jason retorted with a sort of look. It screamed at Randall, telling him silently that he was an idiot and that Cassowaries were definitely not chicken. Randall frowned.

"I know that! I ain't an idiot! I'm just saying! The chickens belong to the villagers and I'm pretty damn sure you don't want us pillaging their dumb as shit towns to take them!" Randall's loud exclamation made a few villagers glance their way and scatter towards their homes. Jason gave a mere roll of his eyes.

"Yeah, I'd prefer you to not steal chickens from them. They need the resources they provide, ya know?" Jason refrained from mentioning he had accidentally ran over a few of the chickens. The damn things always felt like running right in front of his cars. "But if things come right down to it, we should just buy the chickens from them." Jason narrowed his eyes slightly when Randall rolled his own hazel orbs.

"S'not as fun as just takin' them, but fine. I think we can do just that if the birds give us trouble." Randall shoved his hand into his pocket to withdraw his wrinkled map, eyes glancing over the map of South Island. "The closest area Cassowaries inhabit is near Dry Palm Storage Depot." A crooked grin. "Maybe you can liberate it afterwards?"

"Already liberated." Jason replied with a smirk right back at him. "In fact...I only have one more camp to liberate. And it's not your's." Jason saw what was left of Randall's eyebrow raise in a curious fashion, before he chuckled.

"I'm kinda impressed."

"You should be." Jason got into a prideful stance. His arms crossed over his chest and his gaze stared off to the side. "So...there a car you have parked nearby or what? Cuz it'll take forever for us to get there if we walk." Jason glanced back over to Randall and his brow rose when he saw Randall grin wickedly.

"Of course I have transport! They're over there." Randall pointed towards the edge of town and Jason eyed the two ATV's sitting dormant beside a fence. Jason diligently followed the pirate and dog as he jogged over towards the ATV's, climbing aboard one of them with Bentley leaping into the space in front of him. "I was thinking we could race there. Loser's gotta give the winner half of the cash they own." He watched Jason slide onto the open ATV, reaching to turn on the engine. Both hummed to life and Randall swore he saw a devious glint in Jason's eyes.

"Sounds...sounds like a good plan!" The ATV revved and Jason's ride shot forward, startling Randall.

"Oh you cheater!" Randall called after him, taking off after the Warrior. The duo drove across the dirt roads, evading animals and Rakyat alike. It wouldn't do any good if the Rakyat saw Randall and shot him. A fine spray of water splattered on all sides when the duo sped through a shallow river. The closer and closer they drove towards the Cassowary hunting grounds, the more intense the ride became.

The two became all the more creative. They cut corners, driving off-road in order to cut ahead of the other. In the end, it was Jason whom had pulled ahead just barely and won. The ATV's were parked outside of the camp, Randall keeping his head down and out of sight. Rakyat's would fire immediately at him without thinking a second thought.

"You lose." Jason pointed out with a mock grin. "Money." Jason watched Randall reached into his pocket and withdraw a single ten dollar bill. "...really?"

"Only had twenty bucks!" Randall laughed at the look on Jason's face, retrieving the gun from his back and checking the ammo. "Any who, let's get hunting! Packs of Cassowaries should be around everywhere here." Already, the duo could hear the familiar angry noises the Cassowaries made, their loud noises sounding through the thick forest. "Remember, the Cassowaries will attack you the moment they see you! So keep your eyes peeled!"

Through the trees they walked, guns at the ready and fully prepared to take on the usual pack of Cassowaries, which usually ranged from two to five. Cassowaries had the habit of sneaking up on their were dangerous, cruel, and quite the annoying bastards. Jason finally rolled his eyes and ducked beside the Basset Hound that had been following them. A Cassowary feather was picked up from the ground and held out to the dog.

"Might as well let'im get the scent. Would be easier to find the damn birds." Randall merely shrugged his shoulders as the Basset Hound took in the scent of the feather. He sat back on his bum, dopey eyes staring ahead. Both stared at the dog, before jerking in shock when the thing whined loudly and took off back in the direction they had parked the ATV's. "Jesus Christ, I never knew those fat little things could run that-"

"On your toes." Randall cut Jason off with a snarl. The Warrior glanced towards Randall with a sort of confused look, before he heard it. The Cassowary noises seemed to grow much louder, and much angrier. Jason glanced around the plant-life, nudging Randall in his side when he spotted a Cassowary peeking out from the bushes. That Cassowary was followed by another three, and Jason's breath caught in his throat when three more followed them.

"Holy...Randall?" A glance back, only to see that Randall was having the same problem. They were surrounded on all sides by Cassowary. "Well shit." Jason cursed, raising his gun and aiming at a few of the birds. Randall had done the same thing, an ever so present snarl on his lips. The Cassowaries shook their feathers out and lunged for the two. Jason heard Randall curse himself and pull the trigger to his gun.

The large, colored birds attacked, their colorful wings fluttering impatiently and their vicious beaks stabbing through the air in hopes to plucking out their eyes. The large birds dropped when bullets pierced their flesh, but more continued to show up. Randall made a grab for Jason's shirt, yanking him through the path he had made. Both made a mad dash out of the circle of birds that had surrounded them.

"This was a bad idea!" Randall yelled back at Jason, shoving him in the direction of the nearest tree. "Start climbing!" He spat, dropping his gun in favor of raising his left arm. The iron prosthetic glinted in the sun, and as Jason holstered his gun and began to climb, Randall's gun arm unleashed a hail of bullets at the charging Cassowaries. Jason hauled himself up to a high, thick branch, settling himself on top of it. He idly watched a few Cassowaries fall, only to move over to allow Randall to climb up beside him.

"We should have just gone to buy the chickens." Jason stated in a matter-of-fact tone, earning himself a glare from Randall. Cassowaries surrounded the base of the tree, screeching up at the two humans every time they shifted.

"I know. Why don't you just nag me some more?" Randall nudged his elbow into Jason's side. "You got any grenades? Cuz that'll clear them out long enough for us to make a run back for the ATV's." Randall stared at Jason as he retrieved his grenade pouch, reaching inside and withdrawing a single grenade.

"I'll use more of them if I don't get all of them in the first blast." The cord was pulled and the grenade was dropped to the ground. The grenade landed softly on the leaf bed underneath the Cassowaries' feet and both watched with bored expressions as the bomb ticked away, before exploding. Alarmed screeches and squawks spat from their ugly beaks, while feathers and chunks of bird blew up into their faces. Jason carefully plucked a feather from his hair, letting the bloody blue feather drift back to the ground.

"Well...that was rather anti-climactic." Randall spoke with a crooked grin as he used a red cloth to wipe most of the Cassowary blood from his face. He offered the cloth to Jason, whom took it gratefully. He followed Randall out of the tree, landing on the ground and watching curiously as Randall took up a single leg of one of the blown up Cassowaries. "These things are pretty big to make fried chicken legs, eh?" The grin was aimed to Jason and the man rolled his eyes.

"Take what you can...then we'll get the rest from the villagers." Jason once again retrieved his gun, holding it tightly in his hands as he waited for Randall to scoop up as much of the Cassowary meat he could. Only when he felt a limb leg of one of the bird's jabbing at the back of his head, he glared at Randall. Randall was laughing, holding a sack full of the meat in one hand, and a leg of a Cassowary in the other. "Stop that." He barked. "And let's get going before more of those assholes show up!" Air blew out between Randall's lips, dropping the leg in favor of pulling the sack of meat over his shoulder.

"You're seriously no fun sometimes. You gotta loosen up!"

"How can I loosen up when your boss is threatening the life of my only living brother?" Jason snapped right back. Randall's brow rose slowly, his eyes following Jason as he stomped away back towards the ATV's. He only followed after him when he heard another Cassowary nearby. Randall made sure to glare at the panting Basset Hound when they returned. Bentley was sitting pretty beside the ATV's, tongue hanging from his open maw and drool dribbling down onto the earthy ground.

"You were absolutely no help." Randall spoke clearly to the dog. "And I have to pay Hopper for borrowing you." He jabbed lightly at the dog's stomach with the toe of his boot, gently making the dog stand and jump onto the top of the ATV. Jason waited for Randall to climb onto the vehicle before starting up the engine to his.

"We'll go back to Gaztown. Buy some of the chickens there. Take them back to Bridge Control. Celebrate the not so important holiday."

"Hey!" Randall laughed. "If it's got food involvement, Rock's gonna want to celebrate it!"


	10. Morning Routine

The sun rose above the clouds, casting rays of sunshine down on the camp known as Bridge Control. Tropical birds began to sing their songs, acting as alarm clocks for the dozing men and very few women stationed there. Jason never arrived too early in the morning; he was unsure how awful or angry the exhausted pirates would be. But today, he found himself entering the camp in the early hours of dawn.

The jeep was parked just barely off the road opposite of the camp, and Jason slid out of the vehicle. The sun was just barely coming up and the air was crisp and cold. The Privateer uniform he wore worked well with keeping his body heat trapped inside. He stepped around a lazy bunch of snoozing dogs, and moved into the camp. What he found made him pause.

A good portion of men were awake, lounging around and sipping at mugs. The smell of coffee and chocolate hung about the air, rich and thick. A turn of his head, and he spotted Angus being tailed by a woman barely clad in anything. Her skin was the rich color of milk chocolate, her hair resembled the color of coconut shells, and her lips were lush and plump with smeared gloss covering them. Her thin, dainty little hands followed the Englishman as he stepped up the slope and towards the camp.

"C'mon sweetie." She cooed in her exotic accent; a light begging tone was laced in with her words. "I remember servicing your lovely friends, but you and that thin man are the only ones I missed. Just allow me to do so~ You're such a handsome man with a lovely accent-"

"Listen doll." Angus turned to the woman, crossing tanned arms over his chest. "This Asexual pirate does not want your booty. Or any booty." Jason had to slap a hand over his mouth to cover the loud snort of laughter that bubbled out from his lips. The woman continued to pout, but she didn't seem all that concerned when she all but skipped over to where Langley was.

Langley was sitting on a fold up chair, cradling a lightly stained mug in between his fingers. Dark bags hung under his eyes, a thick layer of stubble seemed far more prominent then it had been the last time he had seen him. Another snort of laughter when he saw the way Langley shooed the woman away when she approached. Although, she seemed pleased when she laid about on a thick blanket beside a man already covered with women. Upon closer inspection, he recognized the pirate as none other than Lewis. The man seemed pleased to find another woman curling beneath his arm.

"G'morning..." Langley yawned when he finally spotted Jason. "You're here early...like...really early...what time is it?" Langley leaned backwards in his seat, reaching a solitary hand out to grasp blindly for a clock on the table behind him. His hand closed around the item and the chair was rocked back onto all fours. "...5:30...jesus christ, Jason. You're never here this early. What's the special occasion?"

"Just thought I'd come over...spend the morning here? It's still a few days until the poker game at Hoyt's...and I've already dealt with all of Hoyt's things. So I'm just lounging around until then..." His shoulders rolled in a lazy shrug. "Most camps have been liberated...considering Hoyt would get suspicious if I didn't liberate your camp." Langley made a soft noise at his words, mug back up to his lips.

"Some camps around here? Or some a little further away?" Angus had come to a stop beside Jason, an orange and green, mud-covered mug in his grip. Jason's gaze switched to Angus when he approached and a second mug was held out to Jason. He didn't drink coffee, but he took it to not be rude. Finally, the burning scent of roasting animal reached his nostrils, and Jason breathed it in with a sigh of relief.

"I haven't done Break Point Docks." Jason pointed out; the coffee in his grip reminded him of home. The smell was just the same as the drink his mother would sip at in the morning. "Planned on doing the camp the day of the poker game." His fingers drummed lazily against the mug and Jason gave a small grin. "Yet...who knows how long it'll be until the Privateers try retaking the camps?"

"Took us a few hours after you took Camp Murder..." Langley remarked with a grin. "The Privateers are usually quicker than us, but when it comes to the camps, they don't take it all that seriously." His mug was set aside and a cheeky grin was given. "So it might be either longer or shorter. Or they might start when you're dead or gone." Angus nodded along with Langley's words, already taking his mug and heading off to find someone else to speak too. Langley waved Angus off and his gaze then focused to Hopper as the ginger-haired man stumbled over next.

"G'mornin..." Hopper cooed quietly, and Jason was shocked to hear Hopper speak with such a calm sounding voice for once. He took the mug Langley offered and brought the hot glass up to his lips to drink down the warm, dark liquid. "G'mornin' Jason." Hopper greeted and Jason gave a nod of acknowledgement. "Shockin' to see you here." Hopper's brow rose at Jason and the man smiled at the ginger-haired male. "You doin' something for one of us or-?"

"Just here to see how you lazy fucks get started in the morning." Jason grinned even wider at the glare Hopper gave him and the loud yawn from Randall drew their gazes over to the exhausted man. The scarred man rolled over to his side, and Jason briefly wondered why Randall was shirtless when it was freezing outside. The half-blind male then rolled onto his stomach, hefting large arms underneath his body and pushing himself up onto his knees. A mighty yawn left his lips, and Randall heaved himself up to his feet and trudged wearily past the trio towards Carlos, whom was cooking at the spittle.

"Lazy fuckers? I'm not lazy." Hopper pointed out, scratching at his messy ginger hair with a crinkle in his nose. "I've been doing shit since I first came to these islands! I work harder than a lot of people here!" Mug up to his lips; some lazy slurping noises as he let the warm liquid pour down his gullet. "Shit...I may have taken over someone else's life, but I mean-"

"Wait...what?" That had caught Jason's attention, and a brown brow raised higher than the other. "You took on someone else's life? What...your real name isn't Hopper?" The ginger snorted.

"No? Hopper is an alias. Also the name of the man I killed." Jason looked at Langley, silently asking him if this was true. The man seemed all too content sipping at his own coffee, so he couldn't really see the look Jason was giving him. "Randall helped me take on the alias. I was never even supposed to be here." Hopper shrugged. "Do you wanna hear why I came here or-?"

"Yeah!" Jason yelled, but quieted down when a few pirates snapped at him to 'shut the fuck up." Langley and Hopper both laughed at Jason's enthusiasm, and Hopper set his mug aside. "I mean...if it's really okay to know?"

"Some pirates are more open than others." Langley put in with a crooked grin. "Hopper's sorta one of them." Hopper elbowed Langley in the side and the thin man fell silent, hands raised in surrender.

"I was supposed to be a Privateer." Hopper said in a tone that made Jason look even more curious. "Although, there was a Rakyat attack there at the briefing ceremony." He kicked the dirt with a booted foot. "I was one of three to survive, and Hoyt Volker never got to meet us." A large man passed Hopper and stopped beside Lewis. The scarred up back was all Jason needed to see to know that it was Randall. "The other two fled the island, and I moved on to North Island." Randall was then leaning over the shorter man, an exhausted look still on his face.

"And he met me." Randall hummed, but in his mug wasn't coffee. Jason knew that scent. It was chocolatey, and steam trickled up from the rim. "I found him and helped him disguise as one of the pirates. We offed the guy and had Hopper switch with him." A hand rested on Hopper's ginger locks and Randall ruffled them with a sneer.

"So...uh...what's your real name?" Jason asked, but Hopper shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.

"I"ve been using the name Hopper so long, I've completely forgotten." Hopper scratched at his chin, thinking it over. "Pretty sure it started with a M though." A lazy shrug and his mug was emptied into his stomach. "Jason...you've been standing there like that since you got here. You've got a mug of coffee and you haven't even drank from it."

"I'm not much of a coffee person. Angus offered it and I won't drink it." Jason glanced up, seeing Randall grinning ear to ear.

"I know that. S'why I drink the hot chocolate we get at General stores." He gestured to his own mug, and Hopper leaned forward to take the mug from Jason's hand, pouring the contents into his. The cup was set aside, and Jason's eyes glanced up to Randall.

"How'd you get here?"

"Nuh, uh." Randall shook his head. "I ain't an open book." A ringing bell came from the spittle's, a sign that food was ready to be served. "And it ain't much of a story..." Randall watched Hopper and Langley both scramble off towards the fire pits, wanting to be fed. "Besides...my tales of the battles I've fought are far more exciting." Jason followed behind Randall as the pair moved towards the spittle. The dogs were already crowding around at everyone's feet, begging for their own share.

"Foster!" Carlos yelled in greeting. Wondering why Carlos used his alias name, his eyes flicked to the side curiously and he spotted McDuvan talking with Lewis, whom was still laying on the ground covered in woman. Lewis was not much to look at; why the hell were women always hanging over him? When the smell of food reached the girl's noses however, they abandoned the man in favor of filling their bellies. A tray was held out to him, a large slab of what appeared to be buffalo laying on it. Jason took the tray from Carlos with a thankful smile and he stepped away.

When he found Langley, he was sitting with Randall and Hopper. Beside Hopper was Angus. The Englishman was constantly poking and prodding at Lewis, whom was still laying down, but at least the Molotov man was awake now. Jason was at least pleased to see he was wearing clothes. Looking around the small circle, Jason bristled slightly about how real these people looked. Instead of a loud bunch of murderous, party-animal pirates, he saw normalcy; he saw a family, and the humorous thought of Rock and Clause being the parents made him laugh.

"Come sit with us you loser!" Randall called to him and Jason trotted closer. Maybe he should come visit more in the morning. If only to feel normal.


	11. Protecting Inventory

The shrill slicing of helicopter blades through the air made Jason all the more curious. It was strange to hear the sound so far out in the middle of the jungle, so it drew his attention like a cat with string. Leaving the dead, skinned goat where it had been, Jason followed the noise, listening as it grew louder and louder the closer he approached. If it were mere Privateers, he would have nothing to worry about. He was still dressed in his Privateer garb, so he had no worries of getting shot at.

Pushing out through the trees, Jason found himself staring out over long, hilly mountainsides covered with soft-looking green grass. At the base of the mountain, a familiar helicopter lay in wait; the blades of the chopper were in motion and made no moves to slow down. Taking a few steps towards the side, Jason spotted Phil first. The man was toting out large boxes to a dark Technical, strapping them down to keep them stationary. Next he spotted Nyreene; Veena's sister was leaning against the chopper, holding a small board and reading something off to a third, unknown male.

"Then you head to Gaztown..." Jason could just barely hear her speaking over the sound of the blades. "There you wanna..." Her voice trailed off again under the roar of the chopper, and Jason finally decided he should head down there to find out who on Earth that unknown male was. Taking a running jump off the cliff, he was quick to activate his wingsuit and pull the parachute to drift slowly down towards the ground. His landing caught their attention and Nyreene grinned wide at the very sight of him.

"Jason!" She called out, approaching the Warrior with sparkling eyes and a cheerful attitude. "Good thing you arrived when you did!" She beckoned to the male she had been talking too and now Jason could get a much better look at him. He was short and thin with blond hair and brown eyes. Thick-rimmed glasses sat delicately on the end of his freckled nose, and Jason gave him a lopsided grin. "This is Nathaniel! The newest member of the HagRaven!" A hand was held out towards Jason, and the brunette took it with a firm shake.

"Name's Jason. I-"

"You're the guy who's fucking up all of Hoyt's shit." Nathaniel said in a matter-of-fact tone. Their hands lowered from the other and Nathaniel gave him a thumb's up. "Makin' our work tons easier. There are less Privateers roaming around and they can barely keep up with us now." Jason could hear Phil's chuckling from where he stood by the Technical, but Nyreene cut in.

"Jason. Today, Nathaniel has to travel around the island and deliver the goods to every large village. Would you be a dear and help him out?" Quietly, she added, "He's still pretty jumpy about the Privateers." A snort from Jason, a tiny, yet quiet complaint from Nathaniel and Jason gave a nod of his head. It wasn't like he had any plans currently.

"Sure. All I was doing was hunting. I can help him out." Jason gave a weary grin at the trio, and Phil leaned casually against the Technical, large arms crossing over his thick chest.

"The Technical is all packed. Just drive him around and help deliver the items. If Privateers show up, kill them and protect Nathaniel. We do not want a dead rookie on our hands." Nathaniel gave Phil a rather alarmed look, and the large man merely laughed it off. Phil pat the Technical, a silent signal for them to get going. Jason obliged, climbing into the passenger's seat and suspecting that Nathaniel would be behind the wheel. The blond took his seat and started up the car. His form was slightly hunched forward, and he was pale.

"I'm sure nothing will go wrong." Jason told him in a tone that made the blond look at him warily. Phil stepped out of the way of the Technical and off they drove down the hill towards the road. "Besides. I'm here. I'll protect ya from the big, bad Privateers!" Nathaniel snorted at Jason's enthusiasm. The Technical pulled out onto the road and the rough jerks of the vehicle stopped near immediately as the road became smoother.

The drive was easy; Jason leaned back into the cushions, craning his head around to look for any signs of straggling Privateers. He didn't expect to see any of them, since this area of the island was well taken care of. "So...uh...why are you helping me out?" Nathaniel's voice drew Jason off the road and scenery to the blond's pale face. "We don't even know each other...?"

"I know Nyreene and Phil. Those two helped me out a few times, so I figured I should return the favor." Jason idly removed one of his weapons, his Ace, looking it over to make sure it was ready to be used. "There are still good people in the world, even on fucked up islands like this one." Thurston Town was coming up, and Jason remembered how many Privateers hung out around that certain area. "Just be careful in Thurston Town. Privateers are everywhere there."

"Aren't those guys friendly usually?" Nathaniel asked Jason with a raised brow. His dorky, thick-rimmed glasses slid down his nose and Nathaniel pushed them back up without missing a beat. "Miss Nyreene told me they're 'the lazy fucks who don't give a shit'." Jason barked out a laugh; that laugh made Nathaniel jump a bit, but he returned the smile that the Warrior gave him. The Technical stopped with a tiny screech, and the duo climbed from the car. "Uh...gun out?" Jason gave a nod, and Nathaniel moved to the back, removing the smallest crate and hauling it into his arms.

"I'm right behind you." Jason told him, following Nathaniel through the open slot of the fence and towards the general store; it was small and just on the edge of the equally small town. Privateers eyed them briefly, before turning their gaze away, boredly staring at the sky and at other men standing around. Jason held the door open for Nathaniel and the man stepped inside, carrying the crate across the store and setting it up on the counter. The woman smiled sweetly, gave a soft nod of thanks, and stepped towards a safe.

"Thank you. We were running out of supplies." She thanked as she entered the code and took out the payment. The safe was closed and the money was passed over to Nathaniel. Nathaniel tucked the money away into a pocket on the inside of his coat. "Good luck to you two." Nathaniel smiled and stepped out of the general store, Jason following behind him with a nod of his own to the owner. The Privateers still did nothing as they moved back towards the fence and Jason realized how lazy these fuckers really were.

Jason followed Nathaniel back to the car, sitting there in the front seat and waiting for Nathaniel to finish checking off things on the little board he held. Nathaniel finally took his seat, tucking the board in the backseat and turning the keys in the ignition to start the engine. He backed away from the gate, and Jason was glad to ride with someone who didn't drive crazily on the road. Unlike the pirates of Bridge Control, Nathaniel drove like any normal person would. It was nice.

During the drive to Gaztown, Jason and Nathaniel both made alarmed noises when Cassowaries ran up alongside the Technical, screeching at them in a territorial, back-off sorta fashion. Jason growled right back at them, tempted to raise his Ace at them and kill the ugly blue creatures. Cassowaries were such horrible birds and the living fuckers of Rook Islands.

"Do...do you hear that?" Nathaniel glanced at Jason with a curious look, and Jason had to strain his ears to hear. He could hear tires driving over the dirt of the road from behind them. Jason swiveled around in his seat to stare. This area was well protected by the Rakyat, so he figured it was Rakyat in a vehicle behind them. He was horribly wrong. Privateers were advancing towards their own Technical, and Jason noticed the turret.

"Shit! Drive faster Nathaniel!" Jason replaced his Ace with his bow, reaching for his quiver and unbuckling his seat belt. "Pass me that arrow with the yellow tip!" He ordered Nathaniel, and, with one hand on the wheel, Nathaniel grabbed the arrow with precise fingers and offered it to the warrior. Jason took the arrow, grinning.

"Pull over!" The Privateer behind the turret snapped at them. "Or we'll blow your fuckin' tires out!" At the call, Nathaniel pressed his foot further into the pedal and the Technical picked up speed. The armed jeep sped up in an attempt to keep up, and Jason knew he had to protect the cargo, and the man behind the wheel. Jason drew the arrow back, aiming right at the hood of the jeep behind them.

"How is that gonna stop them?!" Nathaniel yelled, swerving the Technical around a corner and the jeep was fluent enough to keep up. The man behind the turret pressed the trigger, firing at the Technical. Jason felt the bullets pierce his flesh, and Nathaniel even let out a cry as a few stray pellets entered his own.

"Because! They're explosive!" The arrow was released, the bombed arrow shot from the bow and impacted with the hood. The following explosion caught trees aflame and shrapnel came close to hitting their own Technical. Jason let himself collapse back in his seat, and Nathaniel seemed pretty shaken up from the minor encounter. "You alright?" A hand was reached over to lay on the younger man's shoulder, and Nathaniel swallowed thickly and glanced at Jason from the corner of his eye.

"F-fine...just...that was pretty intense..." Gaztown was just as he remembered; filled with birds and villagers alike. Villagers stretched across the town, but seemed to flock towards the Technical when it pulled into town. Jason sat back, tending to his wounds as Nathaniel climbed from the Technical and began handing out crates to certain people. They took them eagerly, insisting Nathaniel take their payments that seemed far more than normal. The villagers thanked him profusely, and with a wave, Nathaniel climbed back into the Technical, and pulled out of the village.

"We done?" Jason asked.

"Yeah...we're done." Nathaniel leaned forward to switch the radio station to a few beats that flowed more sweetly than the earlier tune. Jason let out a content sigh, leaning back into the passenger's seat with a smile. "Thanks for the help man. I appreciate it."

"No problem. Just killing time until the poker game..." Jason readjusted the collar of the jacket and he glanced to Nathaniel. "So...why'd you join the HagRaven?"

"I uh...wanted to disobey my parents mainly. They told me I couldn't get a job in life. Shit got a little crazy my first day. Hoyt's guys attacked us, and I had to...well kill people to stay alive. That was a new experience..." Jason nodded. He remembered how he felt when he had first killed someone. It was a pirate; the man had jumped him, ready to stab him through his throat. But Jason had turned the tables on him and stabbed him. "What was weird though, was that it felt...well...right...I think I'm turning into a serial killer, Jason."

"Everyone on these islands have killed at least one person. We're all killers here." Jason spoke, watching the way Nathaniel paled. "But that doesn't mean we can't be redeemed. I planned on staying here with Citra, but now that I know my brother is alive, my younger brother, I plan on taking him and heading home. I'm not going to remain here." Jason let out a soft chuckle. "I feel like I'm shitting all over Citra's plans though. The woman helped me become who I am..."

"Did she really?" Nathaniel's question made Jason perk up slightly. "Or is she just using you until she's through with you? Cuz if you think about it. She's a powerful woman with an entire army at her disposal." Jason's brow rose. "Now, I'm not saying she's bad, but she's probably using sex to make people believe a lot of her bullshit." Jason blinked. "I'm just saying. If you still want to worship her, go ahead. Don't let me stop you." A wary smile was given.

"I'll keep that in mind." Jason informed with a sort of crooked smile. The remainder of the journey was swift, and rarely any casualties as they drove past the Outpost Jason had yet to liberate. The HagRaven was still parked in the same place out in the middle of nowhere. The blades were finally stopped, and it appeared Nyreene and Phil were sitting in net, fold-up chairs with sunglasses over their eyes. As they dismounted the Technical, Jason saw dead Privateer bodies strewn about the ground with bullets in their bodies. "Do you guys kill Rakyat too?"

"Oh you're back~" Nyreene cooed from her place, sitting up fully in her seat to smile warmly at the Warrior and Nathaniel both. "That's confidential, but no we don't. Rakyat don't pester us like Privateers do." Standing from her seat, she moved closer towards Nathaniel. "Good job, my friend. You shall make an excellent member of our team. And thank you Jason for protecting him." Jason gave the woman a smile and a nod.

"No problem. It's nice to have something to do before the game. Good luck you guys. I've gotta get back to hunting. Extra cash is always a necessity." Nyreene smiled a tad wider, hand raising in goodbye as Jason headed back towards the Technical. "Can I take this?"

"Go for it." Phil laughed. "We stole it off a bunch of Privateers anyways."


End file.
